Colt New Frontier and cast bullets

[dogdoc]

I just got a new unfired for the last 25 years or so Colt New frontier 44 spl. I measured the throats at .433 and was bummed out as I thought it would be very inaccurate due to oversize cylinder throats. I was even considering a new cylinder made to fit. Well I go to my range after work today and find it shoots 1 to 2 inch groups with several different loads at 25 yards. So much for everything i have read. The bottom line on a sixgun is how it shoots. It might shoot better with tighter throats but I cannot. 8 grains of power pistol behind a 250 lyman 421429 is a tack driver(cci 300 primer). A commercial magma 240 grian bevel base swc with 5.5 grains of 231 was also a great grouper (6 shots in 1 inch).

[Dutch4122]

dogdoc-

Not sure if you'd be interested or not; but on the "Group Buys" forum is the thread for the custom 434-250-RF mold/boolit that was designed by 45 2.1. Willbird has offered to honcho this deal through with lee for a custom run of six cavity molds. It's designed to drop from the mold at .434." Just thought you might want to take a look at it if you'd like a boolit that fills the throat better.

Also, the 434-250-RF has 3 crimp grooves correct for .44 Mag Leverguns, .444 Marlin, and .44 revolvers.

[Char-Gar]

dogdoc...Like so many things in the shooting world, folks like to codify things so they can predict what works and what doesn't works. While there are some limits and some rules, the only way to determine if a gun and/or load will shoot is to put it on paper.

Smith and Wesson chamber throats up until about 14 years ago, ran .434 or better. a 44 bullet that is no more that say about .003 under throat will shoot just fine if the alloy and/or pressure is enough to slug the base of the bullet up to form a good seal.

The current generation of shooters seem to have gone to seed on the notion of "hard cast". Elmer Keith specified hard cast bullets in the day when normal pistol alloy was 1-30 or even 1-40. Keith's notion of a hard cast bullet was 1-16, which is butter soft compared todays commercial cast bullets or these "water droped" bullets folks seem so fond of. With the rock hard bullets, they have better fit the throat as no reasonable pressure you can contain in a handgun will slug up the bullet bases. Superhard bullets cause more problems than they solve in sixguns.

I shoot .432 bullets cast from wheelweight in several older SMith with large throats and they all shoot very well.

You are very lucky..those Colt New Frontier 44 Specials are very hard to come by. Glad you have one and it does so well.